U.S. patent application number 14/770622 was filed with the patent office on 2016-03-03 for touch substrate and fabricating method thereof, and touch display apparatus.
The applicant listed for this patent is BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd., Hefei Xinsheng Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Xianlin DING, Ming HU.
Application Number | 20160062518 14/770622 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52098161 |
Filed Date | 2016-03-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160062518 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
DING; Xianlin ; et
al. |
March 3, 2016 |
TOUCH SUBSTRATE AND FABRICATING METHOD THEREOF, AND TOUCH DISPLAY
APPARATUS
Abstract
A touch substrate, a fabricating method of a touch substrate and
a touch display apparatus are disclosed. The touch substrate
includes a first electrode layer and a second electrode layer which
are arranged on a base substrate; the first electrode layer
includes a plurality of first electrodes, the second electrode
layer includes a plurality of second electrodes, each of the first
electrodes includes a plurality of first electrode units and first
connecting portions connected between every two adjacent first
electrode units, each of the second electrodes includes a plurality
of second electrode units and second connecting portions connected
between every two adjacent second electrode units, and the first
connecting portions and the second connecting portions are
insulated and intersected with each other. The first electrode
units are transparent electrode blocks, and the second electrode
units are wire gauze electrode blocks.
Inventors: |
DING; Xianlin; (Beijing,
CN) ; HU; Ming; (Beijing, CN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd.
Hefei Xinsheng Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. |
Beijing
Hefei City, Anhui |
|
CN
CN |
|
|
Family ID: |
52098161 |
Appl. No.: |
14/770622 |
Filed: |
November 14, 2014 |
PCT Filed: |
November 14, 2014 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/CN2014/091128 |
371 Date: |
August 26, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
345/174 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 2203/04112
20130101; G06F 3/0446 20190501; G06F 2203/04111 20130101; G06F
3/044 20130101; G06F 2203/04103 20130101; G06F 3/0445 20190501 |
International
Class: |
G06F 3/047 20060101
G06F003/047; G06F 3/044 20060101 G06F003/044 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 29, 2014 |
CN |
201410437952.X |
Claims
1. A touch substrate, comprising a first electrode layer and a
second electrode layer which are arranged on a base substrate, the
first electrode layer including a plurality of first electrodes,
the second electrode layer including a plurality of second
electrodes, each of the first electrodes including a plurality of
first electrode units and first connecting portions connected
between every two adjacent first electrode units, each of the
second electrodes including a plurality of second electrode units
and second connecting portions connected between every two adjacent
second electrode units, and the first connecting portions and the
second connecting portions being insulated and intersected,
wherein, the first electrode units are transparent electrode
blocks, and the second electrode units are wire gauze electrode
blocks.
2. The touch substrate according to claim 1, wherein the wire gauze
electrode blocks each includes a plurality of first metal wires
extending along a first direction and a plurality of second metal
wires extending along a second direction, and the plurality of
first metal wires and the plurality of second metal wires are
intersected to form a latticed structure.
3. The touch substrate according to claim 1, wherein the first
electrodes are drive electrodes, and the second electrodes are
sensing electrodes.
4. The touch substrate according to claim 3, wherein the first
electrodes extend along a width direction of the base substrate,
and the second electrodes extend along a length direction of the
base substrate.
5. The touch substrate according to claim 1, wherein a material for
fabricating the wire gauze electrode blocks includes copper or
aluminum.
6. The touch substrate according to claim 1, wherein a material for
fabricating the transparent electrode blocks includes indium tin
oxide.
7. The touch substrate according to claim 1, wherein a transparent
insulating layer is arranged between the first electrode layer and
the second electrode layer.
8. The touch substrate according to claim 1, wherein the touch
substrate further comprises a transparent protective layer arranged
above the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer.
9. A fabricating method of a touch substrate, comprising: providing
a base substrate; forming a first electrode layer comprising a
plurality of first electrodes and a second electrode layer
comprising a plurality of second electrodes on the base substrate,
wherein, a process of forming each of the first electrodes
includes: forming a plurality of first electrode units sequentially
arranged and forming first connecting portions connected between
every two adjacent first electrode units; a process of forming the
second electrodes includes: forming a plurality of second electrode
units sequentially arranged and forming second connecting portions
connected between every two adjacent second electrode units, the
first connecting portions and the second connecting portions being
intersected with each other, the first electrode units being
transparent electrode blocks, and the second electrode units being
wire gauze electrode blocks.
10. The fabricating method of the touch substrate according to
claim 9, wherein forming of the second electrode units comprises:
forming a plurality of first metal wires extending along a first
direction and a plurality of second metal wires extending along a
second direction, the plurality of first metal wires and the
plurality of second metal wires being intersected with each other
to form a latticed structure.
11. The fabricating method of the touch substrate according to
claim 9, wherein the first electrodes are drive electrodes, and the
second electrodes are sensing electrodes.
12. The fabricating method of the touch substrate according to
claim 11, wherein the first electrodes extend along a width
direction of the base substrate, and the second electrodes extend
along a length direction of the base substrate.
13. The fabricating method of the touch substrate according to
claim 9, wherein a material for fabricating the wire gauze
electrode blocks includes copper or aluminum.
14. The fabricating method of the touch substrate according to
claim 9, wherein a material for fabricating the transparent
electrode blocks includes indium tin oxide.
15. The fabricating method of the touch substrate according to
claim 9, further comprising: forming a transparent insulating layer
between the first electrode layer and the second electrode
layer.
16. The fabricating method of the touch substrate according to
claim 9, further comprising: forming a transparent protective layer
on the base substrate where the first electrode layer and the
second electrode layer are formed.
17. A touch display apparatus, comprising a display panel and the
touch substrate according to claim 1.
18. The touch display apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the
display panel includes an array substrate and an opposed substrate
arranged opposite to the array substrate, and the base substrate of
the touch substrate serves as a base substrate of the opposed
substrate.
19. The touch display apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the
wire gauze electrode blocks each includes a plurality of first
metal wires extending along a first direction and a plurality of
second metal wires extending along a second direction, and the
plurality of first metal wires and the plurality of second metal
wires are intersected to form a latticed structure.
20. The touch display apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the
first electrodes are drive electrodes, and the second electrodes
are sensing electrodes.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a touch
substrate and a fabricating method thereof as well as a touch
display apparatus comprising the touch substrate.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The touch technology, as one of most convenient
human-computer interaction technologies, has become gradually
popular in human life. A capacitive touch screen is one important
form of a touch screen, a touch substrate of the capacitive touch
screen comprises a drive electrode layer and a sensing electrode
layer, a plurality of drive electrodes of the drive electrode layer
and a plurality of sensing electrodes of the sensing electrode
layer are intersected with each other, capacitance is generated at
a place where two kinds of electrodes are adjacent; each drive
electrode is loaded with a drive signal in a scanning manner, each
sensing electrode generates a corresponding sensing signal, and
when a touch action occurs, a human body or a touch pen approaches
a touch region, such that the capacitance between the sensing
electrode and the drive electrode in this region changes, thereby
enabling the sensing signal of the corresponding sensing electrode
to change and further determine the position of the touch
action.
[0003] A one glass solution (OGS) technology makes the drive
electrode layer and the sensing electrode layer on one substrate,
which is beneficial to lighting and thinning a touch substrate,
thereby becoming one of most promising touch technologies. However,
this technology is restricted in size. In a case of a large size,
if the sensing electrode is made from indium tin oxide (ITO), the
resistance of the sensing electrode is relatively large, and signal
attenuation is increased, so that the signal processing is more
difficult; and meanwhile, the scanning frequency of the touch
substrate is reduced due to an increase of the resistance.
SUMMARY
[0004] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there
is provided a touch substrate. The touch substrate comprises a
first electrode layer and a second electrode layer which are
arranged on a base substrate; the first electrode layer includes a
plurality of first electrodes, the second electrode layer includes
a plurality of second electrodes, each of the first electrodes
includes a plurality of first electrode units and first connecting
portions connected between every two adjacent first electrode
units, each of the second electrodes includes a plurality of second
electrode units and second connecting portions connected between
every two adjacent second electrode units, and the first connecting
portions and the second connecting portions are insulated and
intersected. The first electrode units are transparent electrode
blocks, and the second electrode units are wire gauze electrode
blocks.
[0005] For example, the wire gauze electrode blocks each include a
plurality of first metal wires extending along a first direction
and a plurality of second metal wires extending along a second
direction, and the plurality of first metal wires and the plurality
of second metal wires are intersected to form a latticed
structure.
[0006] For example, the first electrodes are drive electrodes, and
the second electrodes are sensing electrodes.
[0007] For example, the first electrodes extend along a width
direction of the base substrate, and the second electrodes extend
along a length direction of the base substrate.
[0008] For example, a material for fabricating the wire gauze
electrode blocks includes copper or aluminum.
[0009] For example, a material for fabricating the transparent
electrode blocks includes indium tin oxide.
[0010] For example, a transparent insulating layer is arranged
between the first electrode layer and the second electrode
layer.
[0011] For example, the touch substrate further comprises a
transparent protective layer arranged above the first electrode
layer and the second electrode layer.
[0012] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there
is provided a fabricating method of a touch substrate. The
fabricating method comprises: providing a base substrate; forming a
first electrode layer comprising a plurality of first electrodes
and a second electrode layer comprising a plurality of second
electrodes on the base substrate. A process of forming each of the
first electrodes includes: forming a plurality of first electrode
units sequentially arranged and forming first connecting portions
connected between every two adjacent first electrode units; a
process of forming the second electrode includes: forming a
plurality of second electrode units sequentially arranged and
forming second connecting portions connected between every two
adjacent second electrode units, the first connecting portions and
the second connecting portions being intersected with each other,
the first electrode units being transparent electrode blocks, and
the second electrode units being wire gauze electrode blocks.
[0013] For example, forming of the second electrode units includes:
forming a plurality of a plurality of first metal wires extending
along a first direction and a plurality of second metal wires
extending along a second direction; the plurality of first metal
wires and the plurality of second metal wires are intersected to
form a latticed structure.
[0014] For example, the first electrodes are drive electrodes, and
the second electrodes are sensing electrodes.
[0015] For example, the first electrodes extend along a width
direction of the base substrate, and the second electrodes extend
along a length direction of the base substrate.
[0016] For example, a material for fabricating the wire gauze
electrode blocks includes copper or aluminum.
[0017] For example, a material for fabricating the transparent
electrode blocks includes indium tin oxide.
[0018] For example, the fabricating method further comprises:
forming a transparent insulating layer between the first electrode
layer and the second electrode layer.
[0019] For example, the fabricating method further comprises:
forming a transparent protective layer on the base substrate where
the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer are
formed.
[0020] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there
is provided a touch display apparatus. The touch display apparatus
comprises a display panel and any touch substrate as described
above.
[0021] For example, the display panel includes an array substrate
and an opposed substrate arranged opposite to the array substrate,
and the base substrate of the touch substrate serves as a base
substrate of the opposed substrate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solution
of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the drawings of the
embodiments will be briefly described in the following; it is
obvious that the described drawings are only related to some
embodiments of the present disclosure and thus are not limitative
of the present disclosure.
[0023] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a touch substrate
according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0024] FIG. 2 is a schematic distribution view of a second
electrode in the touch substrate according to the embodiment of the
present disclosure; and
[0025] FIG. 3 is a top view of the touch substrate according to the
embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0026] In order to make objects, technical details and advantages
of the embodiments of the present disclosure apparent, the
technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure
will be described in a clearly and fully understandable way in
connection with the drawings. It is obvious that the described
embodiments are just a part but not all of the embodiments of the
present disclosure. Based on the described embodiments of the
present disclosure, those ordinarily skilled in the art can obtain
other embodiment(s), without any inventive work, which should be
within the protective scope of the present disclosure.
[0027] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a touch
substrate. As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the touch substrate
comprises a first electrode layer 2 and a second electrode layer 3
which are arranged on a base substrate 1; the first electrode layer
2 includes a plurality of first electrodes 21, the second electrode
layer 3 includes a plurality of second electrodes 31, each of the
first electrodes 21 includes a plurality of first electrode units
211 and first connecting portions 212 connected between every two
adjacent first electrode units 211, each of the second electrodes
31 includes a plurality of second electrode units 311 and second
connecting portions 312 connected between every two adjacent second
electrode units 311, and the first connecting portions 212 and the
second connecting portions 312 are insulated and intersected with
each other, the first electrode units 211 are transparent electrode
blocks, and the second electrode units 311 are wire gauze electrode
blocks.
[0028] For example, the wire gauze electrode blocks each includes a
plurality of first metal wires extending along a first direction
and a plurality of second metal wires extending along a second
direction, the plurality of first metal wires and the plurality of
second metal wires are intersected with each other to form a
latticed structure, and latticed structures are connected to form a
second electrode 31. The present disclosure does not limit the
first direction and the second direction, as long as the first
metal wires and the second metal wires can be intersected to form a
lattice/network.
[0029] The resistance of the wire gauze electrode block is smaller
than that of the transparent electrode block. Therefore, if the
size of the base substrate is given, in comparison with the case
where the first electrode unit 211 and the second electrode unit
311 are transparent electrode blocks, in the embodiment of the
present disclosure, the first electrode unit 211 is provided as a
transparent electrode block and the second electrode unit 311 is
provided as a wire gauze electrode block, the total resistance of
the electrodes decreases, and therefore, the attenuation degree of
a signal can be reduced, the scanning frequency of the touch
substrate is prevented from being reduced due to overlarge
resistance, and fabricating of a large-sized touch screen is
facilitated. On the other hand, if the first electrode unit 211 and
the second electrode unit 311 both are wire gauze electrode blocks,
included angles produced between metal wires of the wire gauze
electrode block enables light rays penetrating through the two
layers of electrodes to suffer from the light diffraction
phenomenon; nevertheless the embodiment of the present disclosure
is simultaneously provided with the wire gauze electrode block and
the transparent electrode block, the number of the wire gauze
electrode blocks on the whole touch substrate can be reduced, and
the number of the included angles produced between the metal wires
of the wire gauze metal blocks is reduced as well, so that the
light diffraction phenomenon is reduced, and further the moire
effect is alleviated. It will be appreciated by those skilled in
the art that, the touch substrate provided by the embodiment of the
present disclosure is suitable for a capacitive touch screen, and
therefore, the first electrode 21 is mutually insulated from the
second electrode 31, so that in response to that a drive module
provides a drive voltage to the touch substrate, capacitance can be
generated between the first electrode 21 and the second electrode
31.
[0030] Shapes of the first electrode unit 211 and the second
electrode unit 311 may be same, for example, shapes of the first
electrode unit 211 and the second electrode unit 311 may both be of
a diamond, the vertexes of two diamonds of two adjacent first
electrode units 211 are connected through a first connecting
portion 212, and the vertexes of two diamonds of two adjacent
second electrode units 311 are connected through a second
connecting portion 312, so that patterns of the electrodes on the
touch substrate are relatively regular. Certainly, the first
electrode unit 211 and the second electrode unit 311 may have other
shapes.
[0031] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first
electrode 21 may act as a sensing electrode, or the second
electrode 31 may act as a sensing electrode. For example, the first
electrode 21 serves as a drive electrode, and the second electrode
31 serves as a sensing electrode. In this case, the sensing
electrode includes a plurality of wire gauze electrode blocks with
smaller resistance, the signal attenuation occurred over the
sensing electrode layer can be reduced; the drive electrode is
generally connected with a drive module configured for driving the
touch substrate, and the drive module may provide a larger drive
voltage to the drive electrode, so that the signal attenuation
caused by overlarge resistance of the drive electrode can be
reduced.
[0032] In order to further reduce the total resistance of the
electrode of the touch substrate, for example, the first electrode
21 serves as a drive electrode and includes a plurality of
transparent electrode blocks, and the second electrode 31 serves as
a sensing electrode, and includes a plurality of wire gauze
electrode blocks; the first electrode 21 extends along a width
direction of the base substrate 1, and the second electrode 31
extends along a length direction of the base substrate 1, so that a
small number of the transparent electrode blocks with larger
resistances are arranged in each row, the resistance of the drive
electrode is reduced, and thus the signal attenuation is
alleviated; meanwhile, a refreshing frequency of the touch
substrate is prevented from being reduced due to overlarge
resistance, and the touch sensitivity is improved.
[0033] A material for fabricating the wire gauze electrode block
may be any one of metals such as copper, iron, aluminum and silver,
and may also be an alloy thereof. In order to make the wire gauze
electrode block have excellent electrical conductivity and lower
cost, for example, a material for fabricating the first metal wire
and the second metal wire includes copper or aluminum.
[0034] A material for fabricating the transparent electrode block
may include indium tin oxide (ITO).
[0035] As described above, the first electrode layer 2 and the
second electrode layer 3 are spaced in an insulation manner.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the touch substrate according to the
embodiment of the present disclosure further comprises a
transparent insulating layer 4 arranged between the first electrode
layer 2 and the second electrode layer 3, and the transparent
insulating layer 4 functions as an insulating layer, and may not
affect transmission of light of the touch substrate.
[0036] As shown in FIG. 1, the touch substrate further comprises a
transparent protective layer 5 arranged above the first electrode
layer 2 and the second electrode layer 3 so as to protect the first
electrode layer 2 and the second electrode layer 3. The transparent
protective layer 5 and the transparent insulating layer 4 may be
made of a same transparent insulation material.
[0037] The above is description of the touch substrate provided by
the embodiment of the present disclosure, and it may be understood
that the resistance of the wire gauze electrode block is relatively
small, so if the second electrode unit is the wire gauze electrode
block, the total resistance of the electrodes on the touch
substrate can be reduced, such that where the size of the touch
substrate is relatively large, the signal attenuation caused by
overlarge resistance of the electrodes of the touch substrate is
reduced, and fabricating of a large-sized touch screen is
facilitated; meanwhile, the first electrode unit is the transparent
electrode block, so that diffraction of the light rays between the
wire gauze electrode blocks is reduced, and further the moire
effect is reduced. When the drive electrode is a transparent
electrode with larger resistance, the drive electrode extends along
the width direction of the base substrate, so that the resistance
of the drive electrode is further reduced, the signal attenuation
is reduced, the scanning frequency of the touch substrate is
prevented from being affected by overlarge resistance, and the
touch control sensitivity is provided.
[0038] An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a
fabricating method of a touch substrate, the fabricating method
comprises: providing a base substrate; forming a first electrode
layer comprising a plurality of first electrodes and a second
electrode layer comprising a plurality of second electrodes on the
base substrate.
[0039] The process of forming each of the first electrodes
includes: forming a plurality of first electrode units sequentially
arranged and forming first connecting portions connected between
every two adjacent first electrode units; the process of forming
the second electrode includes: forming a plurality of second
electrode units sequentially arranged and forming second connecting
portions connected between every two adjacent second electrode
units. The first connecting portions and the second connecting
portions are intersected with each other, the first electrode units
are transparent electrode blocks, and the second electrode units
are wire gauze electrode blocks.
[0040] For example, the method further comprises: forming a
transparent protective layer on the base substrate where the first
electrode layer and the second electrode layer are formed. For
example, the transparent protective layer may be formed in a
depositing or coating manner.
[0041] For example, the process of forming the second electrode
units includes: forming a plurality of first metal wires extending
along a first direction and a plurality of second metal wires
extending along a second direction, and the plurality of first
metal wires and the plurality of second metal wires are intersected
to form a latticed structure.
[0042] Particularly, the process of forming a first electrode layer
comprising a plurality of first electrodes and a second electrode
layer comprising a plurality of second electrodes on the base
substrate may include: forming a transparent conductive layer on
the base substrate; forming a first electrode by a patterning
process so as to form the first electrode layer, wherein a material
for forming the transparent conductive layer may be indium tin
oxide (ITO); forming a transparent insulating layer on the base
substrate where the first electrode is formed, wherein the
transparent insulating layer may be formed in a vapor depositing or
coating manner; forming a metal material layer on the base
substrate where the first electrode and the transparent insulating
layer have been formed, and forming a plurality of second
electrodes by a patterning process so as to form the second
electrode layer, wherein a material for forming the metal material
layer may be copper or aluminum.
[0043] In the fabricating process of the touch substrate, the
patterning process may employ a photolithography process. A method
for forming the first electrode layer includes: firstly, cleaning
the base substrate, and depositing a transparent material layer
(ITO thin film); then, forming a positive photoresist layer, for
example, on the transparent electrode layer, exposing the
photoresist layer with a mask plate, wherein a pattern of the mask
plate is consistent with that of the first electrode, that is, the
mask plate has a plurality of patterns of the first electrode units
and the first connecting portions; developing the exposed
photoresist layer, removing a photoresist modified by exposure
while remaining the photoresist which is not exposed to light, and
performing a high-temperature treatment on the base substrate to
enable the photoresist layer to become relatively hard; then,
removing a portion, which is not covered by the photoresist, of the
thin film of the transparent material layer by using a proper
etching liquid; and finally, stripping off the photoresist layer to
obtain the first electrode layer. A process of forming the second
electrode layer is identical with that for forming the first
electrode layer, which will not be described in detail herein.
[0044] For example, the first electrode extends along a width
direction of the base substrate, the second electrode extends along
a length direction of the base substrate, that is, when the first
electrode is formed, an extending direction of the pattern
corresponding to the first electrode on the mask plate is
consistent with the width direction of the base substrate; when the
second electrode is formed, an extending direction of the pattern
corresponding to the second electrode on the mask plate is
consistent with the length direction of the base substrate.
[0045] An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a
touch display apparatus, comprising a display panel and the touch
substrate provided by the present disclosure. As the total
resistance of the electrodes on the touch substrate provided by the
embodiment of the present disclosure is reduced, it may be applied
to a touch display apparatus of a larger size, and the moire effect
is alleviated. Therefore, the size of the touch display apparatus
provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure may be
increased, the moire effect is alleviated, and the display quality
is improved.
[0046] For example, the display panel may comprise an array
substrate and an opposed substrate arranged opposite to the array
substrate, the base substrate of the touch substrate may serve as a
base substrate of the opposed substrate, so that a thickness of the
touch display apparatus is reduced.
[0047] For example, the touch display apparatus may be any product
or component having a display function, such as a liquid crystal
display panel, an OLED panel, a cellphone, a tablet personal
computer, a television, a monitor, a laptop, a digital photo frame,
and a navigator.
[0048] The foregoing embodiments merely are exemplary embodiments
of the present disclosure, and not intended to define the
protective scope of the present disclosure, and the protective
scope of the present disclosure is determined by the appended
claims.
[0049] This application claims the benefit of China Patent
Application No. 201410437952.X, filed on Aug. 29, 2014, the
disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its
entirety as part of the present application.
* * * * *